It’s no secret that my husband and I are shameless fans of MadMen, and I’ve written about the cocktails we enjoy on our own and and with our kids. For that matter, Caroline and her kids are also fans of a little mixology in the home.

But over the last weeks, the Kidtini has become something of a weekend ritual for our kids, and when I tasked Kory with creating one for dinner last weekend, he went straight to Google for a new recipe and guess what he found…? Learning to Eat. As Finley put it, “You know Dad is kind of famous. Because he was the first one to invent the Kidtini. It’s on the computer.”

Now, this is probably not true, but we are building a stash of recipes for fun, aesthetically pleasing kid drinks. Right now, they’re largely variations on bubbly water + syrups + fresh fruit, like the recent hit: Pomegranate Kidtinis. And garnish, because garnish is important for kids:

When I point out that some people think Kidtinis might encourage kids to favor alcohol too young, Kory scoffed and said, “I think it’s great that we’re encouraging the kids to eat/drink something that isn’t junk.”

To which I replied, “Um, Kidtinis are basically soda.”

To which he replied, “I mean they’re not a can of cook or a bag of cheetos. They sit down with us and really appreciate what they’re getting.”

To which I had to concede. The point of making a Kidtinis is social. The point is getting your kids to sit down with you and chat about their day over something really pretty and delicious. The point is getting your kids to appreciate what is made for them, and how its made. It’s also creative, and they can get involved, too.

We don’t think we’re one step away from keeping the bottle of scotch in the cabinet by the door for Don, er Kory, to grab on his way home from the office, but we do like to bring some of the aesthetic pleasure of the show to our own home in a fun way.

And in that spirit, here are two more for you and your own MadKids.

Kidtini #2: Homemade 7up

This is basically homemade 7 up, but tastier.

Torani Lime syrup

Torani Lemon syrup

Bubbly water

Lemon and lime triangles to garnish

Mix equal parts of the lemon and lime syrup, or balance the flavors to your taste. Fill a glass with ice, then bubbly water, then as much syrup as you want your kids to have. Spear one lemon and one lime triangle on a party-colored toothpick and balance on the rim of the glass.

Kidtini #3: Ghastly Shirley Temple

Bubbly water

Torani Cherry syrup or Grenadine

Crushed ice

Frozen Blueberries

Lime triangles and circles for garnish

Special equipment: Ice cream scoop

This was a Halloween inspired drink that Kory whipped up last weekend. He simply made a Shirley Temple with bubbly water and the syrup/grenadine, garnished with lime, and made the “eyeball” by crushing ice in the blender, molding it with an ice cream scoop and sticking a blueberry in it.

And yes: I know it looks like a boob. It didn’t so much in real life. The kids thought it was creepy in the good, ghoulish way, not the OMG-there’s-a-naked-boob-in-my-drink way. They also call our cat by its diminutive name in the most innocent way possible. Their minds are still pure.

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A Year Ago

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Two Years Ago

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“A child should be encouraged, not discouraged as so many are, to look at what he eats, and think about it.”